Storm's Calling
by The-Serene-Mage
Summary: When you look into my eyes you will see a storm. When you see me fight, you will be caught in a storm of swords and fury. When you ask my allegiance, I will raise a banner bearing the Stormcloak insignia. I am Myräkkä Windblade, Battle-Maiden of the Stormcloak army. Completely re-written! Please R


here we are, the fully re-written version of Storm's Calling! I hope you guys enjoy this one, I worked hard coming up with a whole new story line for this one :)

* * *

When you look into my eyes you will see a storm. When you see me fight, you will be caught in a storm of swords and fury. When you ask my allegiance, I will raise a banner bearing the Stormcloak insignia. I am Myräkkä Windblade, Battle-Maiden of the Stormcloak army. I fight to preserve my people's way of life and to push the puppet masters of the Empire out, the Thalmor. I fight so my children will know that they are safe to worship who they please without anyone batting an eye. I fight because I hear my calling. I'm a storm in human form, I am a Nord.

* * *

I felt a foreboding feeling in my chest as we marched through Eastmarch. I was a captain of a small contingent of Stormcloak Soldiers assigned to protect our leader, Ulfric Stormcloak. We were reaching a small settlement called Darkwater Crossing when the feeling within my chest began to send chills down my spine. It wasn't like me to get feelings like this, but up until recently they have been occurring. We were asked to investigate some reports of Imperial activity in the area, Just the night before, Jarl Ulfric had called all of the available Stormcloak Soldiers within Windhelm to report to the palace so he could hand-pick his guard.

Amongst the chosen within my group was myself, my cousin Niklas who took on the title of "the Bear" to make himself appear stronger, a rather cheerful Nord named Ralof who hailed from a small village in Whiterun Hold, a burly man named Gunjar, and a young Nord woman freshly joined who went by Brynhild. We were assigned to be the rear guard, I wished that I was in the front guard so I would be able to scan the area as we travelled, but I didn't want to argue with my Jarl's choice in arrangement of his personal guard.

I flinched when I heard the bushes off towards my right begin to rustle, I paused for a few moments and eyes the bush, my storm blue eyes narrowing as I thought I caught the gleam of metal. Then I heard it, the sound of a bowstring being released.

"Ambush!" I shouted as I dodged an arrow, unsheathing my great-sword.

And just like a flash of lightning, the entire guard was alert, their weapons drawn and ready as Imperials jumped out from cover. We clashed blades as we danced around the clearing trying to protect our brothers and sisters in arms and the Jarl. I screeched when a steel arrow had pierced right below my ribcage. But I didn't let one measly arrow stop me from doing my duty. I wrapped my fingers around it and ripped it out, a slight wave of nausea and a sharp pain radiating through me as I dropped the arrow and hefted my Great-sword high above my head to swing at and Imperial Solider who was charging in my general direction.

But that was all the Imperials needed, for one had snuck up behind me and struck the back of my head with his sword, disorienting me. But that didn't make me quit, I continued my assault before the blow to my head made me unable to lift my sword, or keep me standing for that matter. The last thing I remember was hearing Ulfric shout for us to stand down before my world went dark.

* * *

When I next awoke, I found myself in a cart, sitting across from one of the Nords from my group right before the ambush. Ralof, I think his name was. He seemed to have notice me starting to stir, for he raised his gaze to me and gave a sweet smile.

"Captain Windblade, I'm glad you're finally awake!" he exclaimed in a low voice "You gave us quite a scare the last few days…" he added.

I reached up to rub the back of my head, but I found my hands were bound.

"What are you talking about?" I asked with a scratchy voice.

"We were captured by the Imperials…" Ralof replied "You discovered that we were heading for an ambush and we fought to our last breath before we were told to stand down…" Ralof added.

"Damn Stormcloaks…" grumbled a low voice.

I raised my eyes to a man sitting next to Ralof, dirt was smeared all over his face and he was dressed in rags.

"What about my comrades?" I asked with a hiss.

The man looked up at me and flinched before snarling,

"Skyrim was fine until you came along!" he growled "I would be halfway to Hammerfell if the Empire wasn't looking for you!" he hissed.

Ralof let out a hearty laugh,

"It's not our fault you were in the wrong place at the wrong time little man!" he teased.

"Shut up back there!" hissed an Imperial Soldier driving the cart.

I looked to the Imperial and spat at him, in turn, he growled at shot daggers at me,

"You are nothing more than a pack of wild animals!" he hissed before turning back around, yanking the reigns of the horse as the cart began to descend a slope.

I looked around me and saw a figure draped in black furs; his hands bound extra tight and a gag fastened over his mouth.

"Jarl Ulfric!" I exclaimed.

Disgruntled, Ulfric looked to me before letting out a low grunt. It was either meant as a wish for silence or letting his soldiers know that he was fine.

"General Tullius, sir!" called an Imperial stationed on a gate in front of the cart "the Headsman is waiting" he added as a large wooden gate began to slowly open.

"Sovngarde awaits…" Ralof murmured.

"Pardon?" I asked, resting my stormy eyes on my comrade.

"They wish to execute us…" Ralof replied in a low growl.

"No!" exclaimed the man sitting next to Ralof "This can't be happening, Divines please help me!" he added as he began to murmur the names of the divines under his breath "I'm no Stormcloak rebel!" he cried.

I rolled my eyes,

"Face your death with some courage!" I hissed "Otherwise you are no true Nord, only a little man who doesn't relish in the fact that he will be joining his ancestors in Sovngarde soon!" I added.

I looked to Ralof when I heard him murmur something,

"I would love to have a taste of Vilod's Mead before I go though…." He said "I used to feel safe in Helgen, but now it will be a bitter memory before I go to Sovngarde…" he added.

I sighed,

"At least I can be with my father once again…" I murmured.

Ralof looked to me and smiled slightly,

"Where do you hail from Kinsman?" Ralof asked as he turned his gaze to the frightened Nord.

"Why should a rebel who is about to die care?!" he asked with a hiss.

Ralof chuckled slightly under his breath,

"Because no matter what, a Nord should always think of his home before he departs for Sovngarde…" He answered.

The Nord looked down to his bound hands,

"R-Rorikstead…" he murmured "I hail from Rorikstead…" he added as a tear dripped onto his hand.

We all jerked as the cart stopped suddenly. A few Imperials barking orders to one another. I caught a glimpse of a few Thalmor soldiers gathering around on Horseback as one by one the carts were unloaded.

"Damn elves!" Ralof growled "I bet they had something to do with this!" he hissed as he stood up and followed after the Nord beside him, Ulfric jumping out of the cart and onto the cobble stone ground.

All around us, the citizens of Helgen gathered on the porches, watching as our names were read and we were ushered off towards the chopping block. I felt a familiar chill radiate through my chest and down my spine, causing me to shiver.

"Myräkkä of Windhelm!" called an Imperial with short auburn colored hair.

I raised my head high and stepped forward before turning towards my comrades gathered around the chopping block. I spied the limp corpse of the Nord dressed in Rags lying in the road; I didn't even see him run off. The General of the Imperial Legion standing with pride in front of Ulfric boasting about how easy it was to capture him and how he was glad to be finally putting him down. If my hands weren't bound, I would have leapt forward and wrung his neck, gladly accepting the death that would surely follow.

I felt my nerves starting to tingle, adrenalin starting to rush through my veins as an odd bestial roar echoed through the air, cutting the General's little pep talk short. A few Imperials asked what it was, but the General dismissed it, gesturing to a lower ranking officer to proceed with the execution.

She saluted and turned to a priestess who was waiting to give us our last rights before we were allowed into Sovngarde. But she never got to finish her procedure, for one of my comrades interrupted her,

"For the love of Talos, shut up!" he growled as he stepped towards the chopping block.

I recognized him as one of the members of Ulfric's front guard; I think his name was Erik or something amongst those lines. I wanted to be brave for my brother in arms, but I couldn't bear to see him being sent off to Sovngarde in a dishonorable way. His head rolled away and body pushed aside, right before the roar sounded again, the feeling I received when it first happened returned.

"Next Prisoner!" barked the officer.

I felt a rough push from a Soldier behind me, causing me to stumble towards the block; I shot daggers to the General and the officer before holding my head high before I was forced to my knees. The officer using her muddy boot to push me down so my neck was resting on the bloodied chopping block.

My heart fluttered like a storm within as I closed my eyes; ready to leave for Sovngarde, but instead the feeling I had felt when the roar sounded intensified as I felt a rumble. I shot my eyes open as a wave of energy knocked against me and my comrades, sending some off their feet.

"Dragon!" exclaimed one of the Imperial Soldiers.

I shot upwards and saw a black leviathan staring down at us before resting its sinister crimson eyes upon me. It almost looked as if it smiled before opening its mouth to let loose some form of energy, causing meteors to rain from the sky.

The tingling sensation running through my body was enough to make me disoriented, not to mention the strange energy the dragon released as it now flew around in the sky, attacking to town.

"Hey, Myräkkä, get up!" called a familiar voice.

I turned to best as my ability to see Niklas, my cousin, his hands unbound, fury burning in his eyes. I used as much as my strength I managed to summon to my limbs to get up, managing to get to my knees before Niklas reached out to help me to my feet, using a steel dagger to cut me loose before hoisting my arm over his shoulder and running towards a tower where our remaining comrades ran to.

Once inside, the door was sealed and we were able to catch our breaths,

"Jarl, Ulfric!" called one of the soldiers "What is that thing?" he asked once more.

"Could the legends be true?" asked a female I recognized as Brynhild.

Ulfric looked to her and sighed,

"Legends don't burn down villages…" he grumbled before looking to his soldiers.

"We need to move now!" he ordered "up through the tower and quickly before the dragon brings down the whole tower!" he added as he unsheathed his axe and ushered for us to climb up the stairs. As I reached the middle of the steps, I felt the tingling once again and held out my arm to keep my comrades behind me from ascending. Just as they asked what I was doing, the dragon crashed his head into the towers, blocking off the rest of the stairs and sending a wave of fire, incinerating some of our unfortunate comrades before flying off.

"We have no choice but to jump!" Ralof called as he went up the hole the dragon created before jumping through the roof of an inn. We eyed the gap between the tower and the inn before jumping, Ralof catching and steadying us before having us continue on.

I grunted out in pain as I landed wrong, feeling a sharp pain radiate through my ankle, causing me to swear,

"Just my luck…" I grumbled as I hobbled over to a lopsided staircase leading down to the main floor of the now burning Inn.

"Ralof!" called Ulfric "take Brynhild, Myräkkä, and Gunjar with you towards the keep while the rest of us try to find an easy way to escape!" he ordered as he motioned for the remaining soldiers to follow him, charging through the doorway and cutting down any Imperials that tried to stop them.

I ran after Ralof and Brynhild to my best ability before we were plastered against the wall dividing one part of Helgen from the other, the dragon roosting on top as he released a stream of fire before flying off. I noticed that he kept on looking at me, sending chills down my spine. We continued along the wall until there was a break, spotting Ulfric and the soldiers he took with him gesturing for us to approach him. But a building hand crumbled to the ground, cutting us off from our Jarl.

Ralof growled,

"Come on, we have no choice but to go through the keep, we'll meet Ulfric back in Windhelm if we survive!" Ralof called as he motioned for us to follow.

I heard a screech behind me, causing me to stop. I turned and saw Brynhild being carried off by the dragon before being released from its claws, causing her to fall to her death.

"Come on Myräkkä!" Gunjar called after me, yanking on my forearm "We'll meet her again in Sovngarde, but for now we must keep moving!" he shouted.

We were a few short paces from the keep when an Imperial soldier had stepped in our path,

"Ralof you damned traitor!" he growled "Where do you think you are going?!" he hissed.

"We're escaping Hadvar!" Ralof answered "You're not stopping us this time!" he added.

Hadvar grimaced and unsheathed his weapon before looking up; he took a few steps back,

"Fine, I hope that dragon takes you all to Sovngarde!" he growled before running towards a chestnut mare.

The ground shook as the black leviathan landed, talking in a guttural language as he walked towards us,

_"Zu'u Alduin. Zok sahrot do naan ko Lein!"_ he growled before raising his head up before chomping down on Gunjar by the arm, shaking him around like a dog would to a piece of meat before letting him go and catching him in his mouth and swallowing him in one large gulp, resting his eyes on me, "_Zu'u lost daal, Dovahkiin!"_ he growled as he got ready to unleash his strange energy upon me.

Fear was evident in my eyes as I slowly backed away, managing to get to the stairs of the keep before tumbling backwards, using my arms to crawl backwards. Ralof had grabbed onto me and yanked me into the keep, slamming the door as the dragon unleashed a wave of intense heat.

I trembled as the adrenalin ran through me, causing nausea to rest at the pit of my stomach; Ralof patted my shoulder before helping me rise to my feet. I stumbled a bit before leaning against the wall. Tears escaped my eyes; I haven't been this scared since my father was taken from me by the Thalmor.

"Are you okay?" Ralof asked.

I raised my eyes to him and nodded before taking a deep breath, pushing myself away from the wall.

"We should get moving…" I murmured as we entered a larger room of the keep.

On either side were sealed gates, one requiring to be opened with a chain, the other needing a key,

"Damn, we're trapped!" Ralof exclaimed.

My ears picked up the sound of shuffling armor, causing me to turn towards one of the gates before moving out of sight as I saw an Imperial captain being followed after by two Imperial soldiers. Ralof perched himself behind me, passing an axe to me as the Imperials opened the gate. They entered the room and looked around for a bit before the captain unearthed a key. I looked to Ralof and nodded, gesturing for him to take the right as we crept behind the Imperials.

We took down the Soldiers swiftly before the captain turned around, her weapon at the ready and striking against out axes. Her brown eyes flaring in anger as she tried to fight us off. I brought my leg up and kicked her in the torso, her armor absorbing most of the blow, but enough to make her stagger, giving Ralof an opening to strike. He buried his axe into an opening of her armor where her neck was exposed between her helmet and breastplate, a sickening crack filling my ears as the axe dug into her spine. The captain crumbled to the ground, the key in her hand tumbling from her grasp as she fell dead to the floor.

"Grab the key and let's go!" Ralof ordered as he caught his breath.

* * *

We fought through the Imperials scattered throughout the keep, managing to find a few scattered potions and supplies along the way. I took a sip of a healing potion to help the pain I started to feel in my ankle and my abdomen before we entered in what appeared to be a torture chamber.

A feeble old imperial soldier fought against a rather short Bosmer clad in rags, wielding only an iron dagger. The Bosmer ducked as the torturer unleashed a bolt of lightning, rolling to his right to slice the dagger through his boot and ankle, crippling the old man, but getting smacked in the face in the process. It was a rather comical scene as the Bosmer tumbled backwards, his face partially read where the torturer hit him. Ralof on the other hand made sure to finish the Bosmer's work, ending the life of the Imperial, leaving me to attend to the Bosmer.

"By the Divines, that hurt…" the Bosmer grumbled as he rubbed his cheek and slightly puffy eye.

I knelt down and handed him a health potion, he smiled in thanks and drowned it in one gulp, life returning to his skin, and his eye not looking so puffy anymore.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

The Bosmer looked at me, then to Ralof,

"I could ask you the same thing…" he asked.

I sighed heavily and rose to my feet, holding out my hand for the Bosmer,

"We were captured by the Imperials and were to be executed if it weren't for the dragon…" I answered.

The Bosmer's eyes went wide in shock,

"D-Dragon?!" he asked.

"Yes little elf, a dragon…" Ralof sighed heavily before motioning me to follow after him.

"We should take him with, Ralof… No sense in leaving behind a potential comrade to be crushed under the keep…" I muttered.

Ralof sighed heavily once more before tossing an iron sword at the Bosmer and gesturing for the armor on the torturer.

"Be quick about it, unless you want to be buried…" he commented.

The Bosmer nodded and began undoing the buckles of the armor the slain torturer wore, sliding the leather cuirass over the rags her wore and buckling it as he attached the sword to his belt.

"So, why are you here elf?" I asked as the Bosmer moved towards the direction Ralof ran off too, a ring of lockpicks jingling against his belt. He looked to me briefly and sighed,

"Call me Arinel…" he sighed "and if you must know… I was captured after getting caught in the act of theft," he added.

I nodded as we entered a much larger room, a hole in the wall connecting to a cavern where Ralof waited eagerly.

"What were you trying to steal?" I asked as curiosity took the better of me.

"Various things, I needed to earn a certain quota of stolen items before the 16th of Last Seed… But I ended up knocking over a weapon's rack and awaking the entire keep, being imprisoned for a week before I managed to escape…" he answered.

"You aren't that lucky, are you…?" I commented in a tone of a question.

Arinel sighed and was about to answer when Ralof ushered for us to be quiet, an opening up ahead where five Imperial Soldiers waited.

"Orders are to wait until General Tullius arrives!" barked an officer.

"I'm not waiting to be killed by a Dragon!" argued a soldier.

"Just give the General some time…" the officer commented.

Ralof looked to me,

"Think we can take them?" he asked in a low voice.

I examined the room and attempted to come up with a battle plan when I felt a hand on my shoulder; I turned and saw Arinel,

"If you have a bow and some arrows, I can take them out…" He whispered.

I looked to Ralof and he shook his head,

"Sorry Arinel, we only have our axes…" I replied.

Arinel sighed and crouched down, moving out into the room, I attempted to stop him, but Ralof held me back, watching as Arinel buried his dagger into the side of an Imperial soldier carrying a bow. Surprisingly, the others didn't hear of his demise. Arinel looked to us and gestured for us to follow, notching an arrow in the bow he picked up from the slain soldier.

He took a deep breath before releasing the arrow at the Imperial officer, the arrow burying itself in the same space where Ralof had struck the Imperial captain earlier. The officer screeched as the arrow pierced his neck before tumbling forward, hitting his head against a jagged stone sticking out of the ground.

The remaining soldiers took up arms and charged toward us, yelling several profanities as they charged.

Arinel continued to shoot arrows upon the soldiers while Ralof and I silenced them with our axes until it was only us in the cavern. We searched the bodies while Arinel gathered up the arrows from their corpses and following after us, tripping over a cobblestone and nearly landing in a puddle of oil.

Ralof sighed before continuing on as I helped Arinel to his feet, making sure he was steady before following after Ralof.

* * *

We managed to find our way out of the cavern, but to our surprise, we were the only ones. No Imperials waiting to capture or kill us and no Stormcloaks either. Ralof and I sighed in unison before moving forward, crouching behind a stone to make sure no Imperials were waiting to ambush us. Just as I was about to rise to my feet and move forward, Ralof grabbed my forearm and held me back as a shadow loomed over us. I didn't need to know what it was, for I felt my limbs starting to tingle, it was the dragon.

"Looks like he is gone for good this time…" Ralof murmured in relief.

"Where do we go from here?" I asked Ralof since he was apparently in charge now.

Ralof thought for a moment, looking around the area before pointing to an overgrown path,

"That is the quickest route to Riverwood, my hometown," He answered "My sister may be able to help us get supplies before we head back to Windhelm…" he added.

I nodded and sheathed my axe against my belt motioning for Arinel to follow, he was hesitant at first but compelled, falling in stride beside me.

"Hopefully the Imperials won't be waiting there for us…" I commented.

Ralof chuckled,

"They are either all dead or on their way back to Solitude like the cowards they are!" Ralof laughed.

I joined in his laughter as we walked along the path,

"We should reach Riverwood by midday, provided we don't take any breaks…" Ralof commented "if so, count us arriving by dusk… hopefully the cover of darkness helps us from being detected if there are any out there…" he added.

I nodded and looked to Arinel,

"hopefully you don't mind being in the company of Nords…" I murmured.

Arinel flicked his wrist,

"I don't mind…" He replied.

I smiled at him before looking forward, my mind drifting back on the events that happened earlier. Helgen, the Dragon, and the strange feeling I got whenever he was near.


End file.
